"Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is an amazing cleaning product that looks like a white sponge and that when moistened is a stable polymer abrasive that acts like an ultra fine sandpaper to remove stains, dirt, grime, and even paint pigment from in between the fibers of paper!"

"Be sure to use the Originalbrand, because later versions have additional chemical cleaners in them that aren't good for your paper or painting. The original sponge, though works purely physically. When damp it easily lifts the watercolor paint from the surface enabling you to go back in and repaint the area you've erased."

Read the rest of the post for more great ideas on correcting watercolor painting mistakes.

A while back I purchased her book, Atmospheric Watercolours: Painting with Freedom, Expression and Style. Although her style appears effortless, it does take a lot of practice. And I continue to practice.

Here is what Haines says about her daily painting sessions: "I have a wonderful daily routine where I start each painting session with watercolor play. I take three scraps of paper and use different colors, pigments and techniques on each."

"My focus in these watercolor warm-ups is to enjoy painting by experimenting, to remove any negative thoughts from outside daily influences. I enable myself to reach a place in my mind that I call the peaceful zone. It’s at this point, when I have reached a state of calm, that I can paint at my best. This is when I would begin a serious painting."

Hard Waterlines"Reapplying water to an area before it is completely dry can dilute color and carry the pigment to the outside edges, where it will accumulate, leaving unwanted hard lines. The obvious solution is to allow areas to dry completely before reapplying water or color. If you do form a waterline, try to soften it with a scrub brush or reapply water and glaze over it."

Excess Water"To help control the drying time, remove excess water with a clean natural-hair brush. These are more absorbent than synthetic brushes. You can also use the tip of a paper towel, but don’t press too hard or you may lift color, leaving an uneven dry area."

"I like to thin the paint with water rather than acrylic medium. After years of painting with watercolor it’s what I gravitate to apparently. That’s what gives my acrylic work a softer, more watercolor-like appearance."

Adding Texture

"My treatment of acrylic would look rather flat on a wood surface, so I spend time building a unique surface with depth, before I begin my painting. This acrylic painting on wood has a sub-surface of spackling. I am also keen on using gesso, molding paste or joint compound. These materials lend a texture that gives the final work a 3-dimensional quality. I like the rough quality of the final texture."

"If you wish to correct a watercolor mistake, the easiest way is to use a Spray Bottle. The stream of water works like a pressure washer." Check the complete post for the detailed how to.

"Using Pan Pastels, you can paint over an overworked area, and even shift the color......the addition isn’t even noticeable because the dust particles are very small."

"To Make Very Thin Lines, use paper business cards: rip them in different sizes, dip the straight sides of the cardboard into your paint and stamp the lines in. This is very handy for cracks in wooden walls or rocks, thin branches on winter trees, and barbed wire."

Check out the complete article for more great ideas.

Also, don't forget to enter the Sixth Annual Artist's Network Holiday Sweepstakes. The contest begins on Black Friday and ends on December 20. The prizes are always spectacular. I have no connection with Artist's Network. I'm just spreading the good news.

July 08, 2015

The artist talks about combining watercolor paints and pastels. Johannes suggests finding "ways to correct or improve any areas in your watercolor painting that would benefit from pastel. After experimenting, she realized that PanPastels work the best because it has sponge applicators that force the pigment into the grain of the paper."

Check out the complete post for more tips. I know that I'm going to try out this technique.

"My Oriental brush is made from squirrel hair and is the only natural bristle brush that I regularly use. Squirrel hair holds more paint than any other brush, and the soft bristles allow the paint to release from the brush easily. Because it readily releases paint, it is essential when I throw paint to create foliage and textured areas."

I seldom use Oriental brushes in watercolor painting so I think I'll pick one up and start experimenting. Check out the complete post for more tips on brushes.

October 08, 2014

On the Dick Blick site, I discovered Liquid Watercolors. I ordered two bottles - in Magenta and Turquoise.

I plan to use them as dye sprays, either full strength or diluted with distilled water, in my mixed media art work. An 8 oz bottle only costs $3.75. That's less expensive than the commercial dye sprays. And I also like the fun of experimenting with the liquid watercolors.

July 10, 2014

I meant to post sooner but I'm in the middle of a decluttering project in my home. I find decluttering to be very boring and time-consuming. After all, I'm not creating art. But it's a necessary task to keep our home in a reasonably orderly state.

I did manage to do a small watercolor painting and practice my hand lettering. I found the original quote - You Create Your Own Calm - on Pinterest and modified it a bit. Well, back to decluttering.

July 04, 2014

Happy July 4th to Every One! In North Carolina, we were lucky to escape major damage from Hurricane Arthur.

According to news reports, there has been some "beach erosion and storm surge damage on the sound side of the Outer Banks; also water and possible pavement damage on sections of N.C. 12 and flooding in Manteo." However, the results could have been much worse. I am thankful that the Outer Banks did not experience a catastrophic hurricane. The area is so beautiful. We live about two hours from the Outer Banks and enjoy visiting the resort towns.

At our TAG Watercolor Painting Workshop, Catherine Mein suggested that we work with Canson watercolor paper as we perfect our painting techniques. The paper is less expensive so you don't need to worry if you botched a painting - and thereby ruined expensive watercolor paper,

I picked up a 30-sheet pad of 9" x 12" Canson watercolor paper (140 lb) for about ten dollars. I feel a greater sense of freedom when I'm painting now. After all, it's just a sheet of inexpensive paper. I completed the above quick painting yesterday.

June 29, 2014

We were lucky to have TAG member, Catherine Mein, teach a Watercolor Painting Workshop.

Catherine is a member of the National Watercolor Society, Virginia Watercolor Society, International Society of Acrylic Painters, Society of Layerists in Multi-Media, Tidewater Art Alliance, Chesapeake Bay Watercolorists and the National Collage Society. She has won numerous prizes in juried shows. Check out her site to view her beautiful paintings.

The Workshop focus was painting flowers. I painted the flowers in the above photograph. I still need to add some finishing touches.

Thank You So Much Catherine for sharing your talents with our TAG Group!

May 16, 2014

I would like to learn how to improve my painting of watercolor glazes. Here are three sources of information on the topic.

Via Painting About.com, I found this post on 7 Top Tips for Painting Glazes written by Marion Boddy-Evans. One of her tips is to be extremely patient. (This is a tip I need to learn). Marion says, "If you apply a glaze onto paint that isn’t totally dry, the layers of paint will mix together, which is just what you don’t want to happen. Be patient rather than sorry...... Work on several paintings at once so you can move from one to another while you wait for a glaze to dry."

Jim Black, host of Jim's Watercolor Gallery, offers an informative and extensive post on Working with Fresh Transparent Glazes. His suggestions on choosing paper include: "The paper surface should be cold press. A Hot Press surface does not work well with glazi techniques." Jim likes to use a "very heavy weight paper - 300lbs.C.P. Stretching becomes superfluous since the heavy weight of the paper eliminates most ripples." Check out Jim's complete article for more great watercolor tips.

Via Watercolor Online, John R. Koser, offers these glazing tips: "Only slight changes are necessary with each glaze application, so make your changes in gradual degrees. Mix your glazing solution of water and pigment, then test the potency on a small piece of the same kind of paper you plan to work on, which he calls a trial patch. You should paint only one application or layer at a time. Allow the paint to dry completely between applications. You can judge the success of an application only when it is dry." Scroll down John's page for the Glazing information. And read his other watercolor painting tips too.

May 13, 2014

A while back I did a watercolor painting that is similar to the one above. Then, I used water-soluble ink for outlining that painting. In today's painting, I used a Micron pen for outlining. I like this painting better because it has a cleaner look.

Some days I feel as if I'm involved in too many different mediums, especially when my Studio becomes overrun with a variety of art supplies. On other days I like the idea of switching from art journaling to watercolor painting to assemblage. Today was a good day to experiment with watercolor painting.

February 18, 2014

I like to experiment in my Art Journal before I do a final painting. This step helps me choose the final images, words and colors that I want to incorporate into my painting.

I used watercolor paint, watercolor crayons, colored pencils and some acrylic paint to create this art piece. However, the journal page did not accept the paint and water very well since the paper was not absorbent or thick enough. But all in all, this was a good learning experiment.

I first drew the door and stone bricks using a water soluble black pen. Then I added watercolor paints which activated the pen lines. I enjoyed experimenting with this technique and plan to do more similar paintings.

September 09, 2013

Here is the backstory on this painting. I began working with watercolor paints. The flowers were originally orange and yellow. I wasn't satisfied with the painting. And I realized it was the orange that was bothering me. I'm not an orange person.

I went in with oil pastels and changed the colors of the flowers to pink and purple. My painting came out darker than I had intended. But at least it was a learning experience for me - and I was brave enough to post this painting.

For this technique, Deena "uses either YUPO or Strathmore Series 500 bristol 4-ply plate surface for her textured paintings. Both have extremely smooth surfaces and are less absorbent than traditional watercolor papers. This allows the paint to flow more freely, resulting in more intense colors."

April 05, 2013

I was searching for an article on how to draw more loosely. Instead, I found this interesting post, Six Ways to Better Drawingwritten byHelen South, (About.com Guide). I especially liked the following suggestions:

March 20, 2013

When I do a watercolor painting, I usually do a pencil sketch first. For this painting, I took a risk and drew all of my flowers with Liquid Frisket. After the latter dried, I added a blue sky, green grass and some text stamping to the background.

I rubbed the frisket off with my fingers and then painted in the flowers. I'm satisfied with the final result but I do see some areas that I can improve upon in subsequent paintings.

I actually did this painting in my Art Journal. I wanted to create a casual painting so I wasn't focused on perfect.

The frisket I used is Grumbacher Miskit (liquid frisket) which is orange in color. For best results, the frisket should be removed within 24 to 48 hours. This is the first time that I tried this product and I like the way it performs.

February 27, 2013

On Empty Easel, I discovered two videos (featuring artist Linda Baker) on How to Pour Watercolors using masking fluid to control the flow of paint. Linda's videos make the process look very doable even for beginners.

May 25, 2012

My inspiration for this chair came from a furniture catalog. I used graphite pencils, watercolor paints and watercolor crayons on 140# watercolor paper. This is the kind of chair to snuggle into, on a rainy day, with a good book - or Nook - or Kindle?

And instead of a cup of tea, you might be sipping a Cafe Mocha or a Frappuccino - with your cell phone nearby.

June 29, 2010

Today, I finished sketching a very intricate drawing. I opened up a new set of Prismacolor fine line markers and began inking the drawing.

Suddenly, the pen started skipping and the nib almost bent on the paper. I was not pressing hard. No matter what I tried, I couldn't salvage the drawing. All those sketching hours were wasted! I think I'm going back to using Pigma Micron pens.I did a quick whimsical sketch (below) so that my day wasn't completely lost.

April 27, 2010

I was sorting through some of my watercolor paintings when I came upon this copy that I had taken of one of my original paintings.The color was much richer in my original art. So I took the copy and reworked it a bit in Photoshop Elements. But I still want to find the original art.

The moral of the story - to me - is: It's time to reorganize my art work - and art supplies. Do you ever misplace paintings - or even supplies?

September 25, 2009

In a past issue of Watercolor Artist, there's an excellent, and comprehensive, article by Charles Reidon how to stop overworking your watercolor paintings. He provides four valuable tips to achieve this goal:

Once you start losing your concentration, stop.

Don't go back and make forms more defined.

Don't add small darks at the end of the painting.

When you make a stroke that's "off," stop.

I think I'm going to keep his tips by my side when I do my next watercolor painting.

Reid also suggests that you study the watercolor paintings of John Singer Sargent.If you visit Reid's site, you'll find that he keeps it beautifully simple in his paintings. I especially admire his Venice paintings.

Here is a painting by John Singer Sargent, entitled Gondoliers' Siesta (1910). (Note: I just realized that I'm continuing to follow Michelle Ward's Challenge: To Learn Something New. And that's a good thing.)

August 29, 2009

I purchased a new laptop - and a new printer - and upgraded from Photoshop Elements 3 to Photoshop Elements 7.Well, it's back to Square One, on the Learning Curve, in regard to all three purchases.

I just tried to edit a watercolor painting, which I did today, in Photoshop Elements 7. And I wasn't able to change the font color.So, I booted up Elements 3 and I easily changed the color of the font. The joys of new technology!

June 29, 2009

I was recently inspired by aPochoirprint (from the 1920s) which I saw online. Instead of using the stencil process, I reinvented the print by turning it into a mixed-media work, using watercolor painting and art stamps.

The original print consisted of a man and woman - and more detailed background. I chose to portray only the woman and a couple of trees.

June 13, 2009

About every three months, I like to review my goals for 2009.This year my major goal was to draw daily. Due to my recent vacation and family visits, I neglected to draw daily.

Since I hadn't been practicing, I felt a little rusty when I worked on the watercolor (below). But I decided to recommit to my goal and continue to do a daily drawing or more.

I believe drawing is like any other skill. The more you practice, the better you become - and the more satisfied you are with the end results. Then one day, after a lot of hard work, everything seems to fall into place. And you are surprised at the progress that you made and the skill that you have achieved.

May 19, 2009

I only had time for a quick watercolor painting today. I had to take my Shih Tzu, Tia, to the Vet this morning.

This was her second Vet visit in two weeks - She has a UTI. Hmmmmm.....Gave the Vet $159. last week and $116 this week. Did you ever notice that big bills seem to come in bunches. We just replaced our ride-on lawn mower and then our air conditioning unit needed $600. of repair work. And the unit is less than five years old. I know these financial bumps in the road happen to everybody.

I think I need to set aside a few more hours, later on, to make more Art to soothe my soul. I find it very healing to work at my Art. So, here's my little coffee cup painting. I played around with the colors in Photoshop Elements.

April 02, 2009

Here's a quick watercolor painting experiment that I did this afternoon. First, I put a wash of blue ink on some vintage sheet music from the early 1900s. I then applied Gesso in the middle of the page. I dried the Gesso with my trusty heat gun. Next, I made a quick sketch of a female face - and applied watercolor paint and watercolor pencil to enhance the image.

I've tried this Gesso/watercolor technique before. It's interesting how the Gesso background allows you to (both) wipe out areas of paint - and add additional paint to your composition.

My goal was to make a quick watercolor study - and not strive for perfection. Sometimes, I think you can learn more from your materials when you work fast.

February 24, 2008

At my last watercolor class, we worked with masking tape and/or Mylar. I chose to work with masking tape.

First, I added a wash of ultramarine blue to the middle of the watercolor paper. To create some foliage, I tore very thin strips of tape and pressed them along the bottom of the painting. I covered the strips with a wash of yellow paint.

Since I wanted to paint birch trees, I tore off small pieces of masking tape to cover my sketched tree limbs - leaving varying degrees of thin, horizontal white spaces. I filled in these spaces with burnt umber paint. I then stroked on some light-colored branches. Next, I used a sea sponge (coated with burnt umber) to add brown leaves.

When the paint dried, I removed all the masking tape. I added in some more leaves using the sea sponge technique. I then stopped painting. I'm going to take my unfinished painting (see below) to my next class. I want it to be critiqued by my Instructor and fellow classmates so I can get a better idea of the next step to take. I don't want to overwork the painting - LOL - like I did last week.

In the meantime, I wrote up this tutorial in case you might want to try these ideas.